


Just A Feeling

by AbbessRosaria



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Adventure, Empath, F/M, Psychic Abilities, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24095479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbbessRosaria/pseuds/AbbessRosaria
Summary: Rachel is a small town psychic. She made her pocket money reading tarot cards for locals at a little restaurant. Now, the Doctor is a man of science. This does not deter him from believing in the webs of fate though. His curiosity leads him to a simple card reading if only to measure the degree of this one human's skills at reading the webs of time.If you happen to reread this, you may find that I tend to finesse chapters by either adding more detail or cutting out minor ones. None of this should affect the main plots of the story.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	1. Cards

**Author's Note:**

> The Doctor has his tarot cards read.

Sunside was a quaint little place in central Texas. Somewhere to grab a bite to eat and perhaps have your cards read.

"The future is never set in stone. What happens then is what we are making now. I can only read from the present moment and go on from the past." The young woman clad in black finished her disclaimer. She began shuffling her deck of tarot cards.

A nervous man was sitting across from her. Pudgy and sweating. His hair was thinning at the crown of his head and what curly hair he had left was clinging to his temples. "Please, just tell me if there's a chance that my wife will return to me." He pleaded. Daniel was a regular client of hers. He came to her in many times of emotional turmoil even at her suggestion to see a proper therapist. Card reading may be cheaper than paying for counseling but she could only do so much for people. She just advised the best of her ability.

She sighed internally and laid her spread. A Celtic cross. Everything was mostly swords, many cards were reversed. "Your mind is troubled by the divorce." She pointed her black fingernail at the Nine of swords. "But you can't let it weigh you down." Her finger moved to The Devil. "There is hope for you." She moved to The Star. "But you must let go." She pointed to the Six of Swords. "It's time to pick up the pieces, Daniel." She pointed to the reversed Five of Cups.

The man became a blubbering mess of tears and she reached out, gently squeezing his shoulder. "I am sorry for what happened. You're welcome to come to me again free of charge. I hope you can also find some solid counseling though too."

"Oh, Rae. Thank you for seeing me again." He hugged the young woman from across the table. "Just more words of advice if you wouldn't mind?"

She gathered and reshuffled the cards, opting to lay out a simple three-card spread. Three of Cups, Four of Pentacles, Reversed Ace of Pentacles. "Now is the time to spend with friends and family. I know it will be hard to socialize but taking part in some good old fashion fun will help alleviate some of this sorrow. It's also a good time to start setting emotional boundaries and save some money. You might need to make physical detachment to make moving on easier. However, don't go overboard and throw caution to the wind when you're trying to have fun."

The man nodded feebly and thanked her again.

"How about I buy you a coffee?"

"Oh, thank you but you've done enough for me."

"No, I insist. I'll order some coffee to go for you." She moved to stop a waitress. "Large coffee to go please, light on the sweetener." The waitress nodded and went to brew some fresh coffee.

"You're too kind Rae, you've been a dear friend to me."

She felt like "friend" was a strong word. They were acquaintances at best. She had been giving tarot card readings at this restaurant for some time and people came out of curiosity. It was a side hustle and it put a little pocket money in her hands. Daniel became a frequent client and they both would end up having breakfast together before he left for work. She would give him his daily forecast or answer whatever questions he had. She began giving him discounts and offered him free readings when money was tight for him.

"It's not a problem, Dan. You take all the time you need to get through this. I hope you start feeling better soon."

The waitress returned with the coffee and Daniel took it with a curt nod. "Thank you for your kindness and coffee. I feel a little better already. I'll see you soon." He turned his back and left the restaurant. Rachel gathered the cards, ready to put them away.

"Well, aren't you sweet!" A man's voice said rather loudly. Very closely too. She fumbled and nearly dropped the cards. She found the source in the booth in front of her. She noted the soft London accent.

There was a lean man with wild brown hair. His mouth was opened in an elated grin, revealing fine white teeth. His brown eyes sparkled with unbridled excitement.  
"Hello there. I'm the Doctor." He introduced himself and moved to stand. He was neatly dressed in a blue suit and brown trench coat. A bit odd, a sort of business casual style she guessed.

"Tarot cards! I love me some good fortune-telling entertainment, gives me a bit of giggle." He slid into the seat in front of her. "Mind reading for me? It's been such a long time since I've seen good old' human card readings. Bit of fun to watch, it's more about the way you perceive the current situation when you read to people, is it not? It's amazing! From roman soothsaying to cards right on the table! You humans always invent some new way to try and read what the future holds for you guys. Wishing for the best, trying to avoid the worst." 

This Doctor seemed to go on a bit of a ramble but he stopped when he caught the woman's expression. "Ah, right. You need to ask me what my zodiac is or pull up a natal chart, read my palms," he waved his hands in front of her. "Do a horoscope reading or something before you can pull those cards out. You all, looking to the stars for answers. Fascinating!"

Rachel cleared her throat. "Well no. Interacting with you is enough." She inhaled slowly, exhaled the same to ground herself. All his excitable energy was making her pulse race. She's normally in such a calm environment. Empathetically picking up on his emotions was making it difficult to concentrate. His energy signature was overbearing but at the same time, it carried a magnetic pull. She took a another deep breath and laid out a three-card spread.

The Sun, Six of Swords again, and Five of Cups resurfaced as well. The last card was upright now. This time, the same cards came with new interpretations. She was silent for a moment, listening to the little voice in the back of her mind as she pieced her interpretation together.

"You're a traveler. You're host to immense joy but you also have suffered a great loss. I feel like you have continued to suffer great loss but this spark of joy is what keeps you going. It feels very childlike. Childlike joy as if always experiencing the world for the first time." She felt emotions that weren't hers. Bright joy like a summer day, and a note of sadness like the clouding of an oncoming storm. A tear might slip if she let it.

She looked up and noticed his smile was pressed into a hard line. Those brown eyes were boring into her with the unspoken confirmation that she had hit some key points that resonated with him. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.

"Well, this could apply to anyone. You're American, hearing a foreign cadence means someone's traveled. You see me happy and enjoying myself so of course, you'd say that and most people suffer loss in their lifetime." He explained.

"This feels very heavy, Doctor...." Silently asking for his name.

"Just the Doctor! And loss is always heavy, isn't it?"

"Doctor, I mean this makes me feel very sad. Sad for you. I feel like I'm mourning. I don't know what I'm mourning but it feels like something drowning me."

"I'm sorry, you feel? I thought you were just reading the cards."

"I am. The cards just paint the outward picture. The interpretation comes from here." She held her hand over her heart.

"Ah. That's your process, is it? You as a human have somehow managed to psychically dissect others and tell them about themselves, am I right?"

Her black-painted lips pulled into a smile."Something like that, yes. Doctor, did you know that we form psychic links with people? Like threads of spider web, barely there but enough to connect with people. Cords connecting us all. Our perception of those links is only limited to our understanding of how it works."

His eyes grew wider with her words and his smile broke wide. "Well, aren't you brilliant! You, humans, are so amazing!"

"What do you mean by 'you humans?' You talk like you're not one."

"Well, I am a bit different. Well, not that different really. Just from very, very, very, far away." He rested his chin upon his hand with a thoughtful look.

She nodded feeling that he was not going to give her any more than that. Leaning back into her booth she gathered the cards and placed them in their box. "First reading is always free to new clients. I hope you enjoyed yours."

He beamed at her. "Oh yes, that was loads of fun. Well, I must be off now. Thank you for such a great time. What is your name?"

"Rachel, Rachel Anderson."

"Ha! I was expecting something like Raven!" He eyed her completely black attire. "Sorry, was that rude? Oh, don't mind me. I'll be off now. It was nice to meet you, Rachel Anderson." He shook her hand swiftly and was out the door.

She shook her head, takes all types. She stood from her booth and ordered a cold sweet tea to go. She received her white foam cup and walked out the door to the strangest of noises. An odd, loud whooshing sound that shook tree branches and made the leaves dance. She looked right behind her just in time to notice a fading hint of blue in the distance. Blinking twice, she felt the beginnings of odd stirrings in the air.


	2. Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a thief out and about. Rachel meets The Doctor for a second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing things as they come to mind. I'm still working things out.

Two weeks had passed since she met the man who called himself The Doctor. She had not seen or heard of him, supposing that he had just been passing through town. No matter, she was currently at her usual job at a small retail store. Goods Sense was a little shop that catered to passing fashions. Every so often the clothing line ups would change. Here, she wasn't the mysterious tarot card reader in the corner of a small restaurant. This was the only time she was considered normal looking to the public eye. White blouse, black dress pants, and neutral-toned makeup. It felt like a mask.

She was stocking some men's dress shirts on a rack when her boss approached her from the side. He was a middle-aged caucasian man, always wearing his ash brown hair combed to the side. He had a bit of a larger build to his form.

"Rachel, may I have a word?" He asked. She felt an air of apprehension like he dreaded to discuss what he needed to say.

Nevertheless, she had to stop what she was doing and follow him. "Sure thing." She put down the hanger she was holding and followed the stocky man to his office. A small space with a desk, computer, and filing cabinets. The usual office space necessities.

"Have a seat." He gestured to the leather chair in front of his desk. He moved to sit in front of his computer and turned to her. Rachel sat down, the chair groaning lightly under her weight. The room was filled with thick tension. She was rarely called into the boss' office.

"It has come to my attention that some money has gone missing from register two. Do you happen to know anything about this?" His blue eyes were narrow and suspicious.

"No," she shook her head. "When did this occur?" It could have happened before she clocked in for work.

"9:00 AM, this morning." Her boss fiddled with the computer and pulled up a screen of this morning's security footage.

Rachel gasped. All the blood felt like it was draining from her face, her already pale skin may as well be as white as snow now.

She was on the screen, blatantly pocketing cash from the register with no regard for the camera. Of course, evidence was going to point to her. Only that wasn't her at all.

"Sir, I don't know how I can make you believe me but that's not me!" She exclaimed.

"Now, Rae. You've worked with us for three years and I've trusted you. You have been in good standing but there is no denying that is you on the screen." He said in an even tone. "All I want is the truth. This is uncharacteristic of you and I can let you off with a write up if you give me an honest explanation."

"I don't know what to say. That's not me." There was a slight strain in her voice. This was unbelievable.

"Then who is it? That is exactly how you look and exactly how you're dressed." He crossed his arms. His Tone went from even to hard and pressuring.

Should she lie? No, that was too stressful for her. Perhaps not more stressful than this but could she lie just to save her job?

"Are you in any trouble, Rae? Did you need some extra money? I could have always just given you more hours or worked a flexible schedule for you."

There was a knot in her throat as felt the impending weight of the situation. "I'm not in any trouble. I can pay you back the money, just trust me when I say that isn't me."  
He let out a drawn-out sigh through his nose. "If you can't be honest with me, Rae then I will be forced to terminate you."

This is it. Her job is lost. "Fine," she sighed in resignation. "Fire me, I'll pay you back the missing money. I can't lie. If it costs me my job, then so be it."  
With another sigh, her boss pulled out the necessary paperwork. "That's six hundred missing from the drawer."

Rachel could only nod, there goes what money she had on her person. Rent was due soon but it looks like she may fall behind. She had saved pocket money from her readings and put some aside from previous pay periods. She would have to replace the money and limit her food budget after, even after her last paycheck arrived, her budget would still be tight. She opened her purse and pulled cash from her wallet, laying it on the desk. "Here you are."

Her boss offered her a pen and she signed her signature on her termination sheet. What a beautiful way to start the day.

On the other side of town, there was a man, a very curious man. The soles of his shoes scuffled the ground beneath him. In his hand rested an even more peculiar device.

Beep, beep, beep. Went a little sound to a lime green light.

I love it when they go beep! He muses to himself and proceeds to wander the streets for the source of the disturbance. So far the little machine in his hand was blinking slowly. He was so very far away. He turned this way and that, hoping the signal would change. Then finally it did and the Doctor marched on for another half hour.

Rachel needed somewhere quiet to process her recent job loss. So she sat on a hard wooden bench at a park that was a decent walk from where she had once worked. On the way, she had decided against her better judgment to purchase a frozen yogurt with what little pocket money she had left. She sighed bringing large spoonfuls to her mouth.

Why did fate decide to be cruel to her today? She would have to file for unemployment and start looking for another job. Card readings couldn't pay the bills. More importantly, why was there someone who looked exactly like her stealing money from the register.

A very intense beeping roused her from her thoughts and she turned to face the source. It was the same man that she met two weeks ago. Still dressed the same way. In his hand was the odd little device making that sound.

"You?" She gazed up at him.

"Me?" He asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

He must have forgotten her name. "Rachel, we met at Sunside two weeks ago."

"Oh, Rachel!" He exclaimed with that signature wide grin. "Sorry, didn't recognize you without all the black." He waved his hand over his face. "Oh, look you've got yogurt! I quite like yogurt maybe not the plain kind, good for your gut though with all that natural biological flora there oh but nevermind that. Two weeks ago, you said? I might be a little off course with coordinates but I may not be too late. Tell me, Rachel has anything happened here recently. Anything out of the ordinary, maybe something getting the town all a buzz, and what not?"

Her thoughts returned to this morning's unfortunate series of events. "I lost my job to someone who looked like a carbon copy of myself."

He turned his full body to her. "Exactly like you?" His head was seemingly brimming with questions and theories as she could feel his wheels turning. 

"Yes, from my face to the way I was dressed."

"When did this happen?"

"She stole from one of the registers where I used to work at 9:00 AM this morning."

The Doctor stepped closer. "And I'm guessing you don't have a twin?"

"Correct." She nodded.

"A perfect genetic copy, or at the very least a visual image of someone else. How is it doing that? The original is most always put into stasis to keep the copy running. Unless," he gasped. "It's something new! Well, then. That's exciting, isn't it? I don't mean to rush, Rachel but hurry up and finish that yogurt. It looks like adventure's afoot!" He said gleefully. 

This strange happy man was offering to help solve who that look-alike person was. For what it's worth, he at least sounds like he knows what he was doing which was enough to gain her trust. His light-hearted mood was lifting her spirits too. She tossed what was left of her yogurt into a nearby trash bin and stood up. "Just call me Rae."

"Rae it is then, ready to catch this mimicking thief?" His grin ever-present on his face. His eyes were twinkling with the same excitement she saw back in the restaurant.

She placed her hand on his shoulder, as casually as she could make it seem and allowed herself to absorb just a touch of his energy. Under stress, she felt she could use some of it. If anything just enough to perk herself up a bit more. She rarely did this as it would often be against someone's will but it's not like most people are aware when this happens. She did this only under emergency if it was available to her and this was an emergency. She put on a smile. "Lead the way, Doctor."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, The Doctor just loves a good adventure, doesn't he? I was originally going to start their adventure off differently but this is just how it came out while I was typing and so now I'm just rolling with it.


	3. Allons-y!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rachel begin their investigation back at where her troubles started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing about a chapter per day if I can since they are so short and I have some time on my hands. I apologize if the frequency of posts slows later.

The pair found themselves back at Goods Sense. The store was at its busiest so there was a good bustle of people about. They made their way to one of the front registers. Rachel noticed that The Doctor walked with a bit more of a swagger in his step as he approached the cashier, hands in his pockets, and an air of confidence. The kind of confidence that made it seem like he owned the world. She soon joined him at his side.

"Hello, there." He offered a friendly smile. "We are looking for Mr. Baxter-" He dipped his head down to Rachel's ear and whispered. "That is, was" -he corrected -" your boss' name, right?"

"Yes, Doctor." She confirmed in a hushed tone.

"Ah, good!" He turned his attention to the young woman behind the counter. A woman whom she had only seen a couple of times since they worked different shifts. She was smaller than even Rachel herself and the towering height of The Doctor seemed to intimidate her despite his friendly approach. The other woman, whose name was Lydia based on her name tag, was fiddling with a dangling charm on her silver bracelet nervously.

The Doctor held up what looked like a small black wallet with a paper attached to the inside. He flashed it in front of Lydia's face. "John Smith, Private Investigator. There seems to have been a misunderstanding with a former employee, Ms. Rachel Anderson and she has hired my services to investigate the criminal activity which occurred at 9:00 AM in this store." He flipped his little booklet closed and stuffed it back into his pocket. "May we speak to your boss?" He inquired.

"Um, our phones are currently down. So, I can't call his office. I will have to go look for him. If you don't mind waiting a few minutes, I'll be right back." Lydia looked toward another employee. "Martin, do you mind watching register one? I have to go look for the boss."

The young man, Martin stopped his stocking and walked to the counter. "Sure, I'll be here." With a quick thanks from Lydia, she left her station to go find Mr. Baxter.

Rachel and The Docter stepped away from the counter to sit on the benches where customers were able to try on shoes. "So, your name is John Smith and you're a private investigator?" Rachel asked. "I don't have any money to pay you for helping me." She began to stress over the financial cost of his help.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm no private investigator. Don't need any money either." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the same little black wallet. "Psychic Paper allows me anywhere by making people believe whatever I want them to if I just think it." He tossed it to her. She caught it in her hands and flipped it open. The sentence, TRY IT YOURSELF was displayed on the white paper.

She looked at The Doctor in awe to which he winked with a broad smile. "Go ahead, pretend to be something, and show me the credentials from there."

After taking a few brief moments to think it over, she closed the flap over the paper and handed it back to him. He opened it with an amused look and read aloud; "Rachel Anderson, government spy. Leading member of the Stargate Project." He pocketed his little black book and stared at her with a serious countenance upon his face. "You know, your government has never shut down the Stargate Project." He leaned his back to the wall behind him.

"What do you mean?" She was just playing around but The Doctor was speaking seriously.

"The program was closed to the public but the United States government is still pursuing the use of coordinate remote viewing as a means of collecting military intelligence. 1991 to the present day, it is still very much active." His eyes turned to the wall behind her as if something was running through his mind. Something he wasn't sure that he should be speaking about. "Never much liked the use of psychic training for military purposes, can't stand a gun, or any weapon for that matter." He exhaled through his nose slowly, maintaining his distant gaze. "Governments never did like them much either. All politics and war. Corrupt." 

Rachel felt that the man in front of her was slipping into a sulk as his earlier bright disposition was going down like a dying flame. She had opened her mouth to say something when they were interrupted by the sound of her former boss's voice.

"Rachel, back in the shop so soon?" His voice was a mixture of friendly greeting and agitated from having been pulled away from his work for something he thought was already dealt with.

The Doctor practically jumped to his feet and whipped out his little black book. He flashed the paper in front of the slightly shorter man. "John Smith, Private Investigator. Currently on the case of a mimicking thief. I was made aware of an incident that occurred this morning at your store. Mind if we step into your office?" his hurried tone seemed to catch Mr. Baxter off guard. The shorter man looked between the two swiftly and nodded, motioning for the pair to follow him.

Once inside his office, The Doctor requested video footage from 9:00 AM this morning. Mr. Baxter typed into his computer and turned the monitor to Rachel and The Doctor.  
The Doctor pulled out a pair of thick-rimmed glasses from his coat pocket as he surveyed the screen. "How is it doing that?" His brows clenched in a furrow as he hunched closer to the screen and continued watching the scene.

"I'm sorry, it? That's clearly, Rachel." Mr. Baxter interjected.

"No, no, no. That's something else. I don't know what that is but that's not Rachel." He straightened his back. "Rachel, stand closer." The Doctor demanded.

With slight confusion, Rachel stood closer to his side.

"How tall are you to me?" He asked.

"I'm about your shoulder height, why?"

"Do you remember where the register's height was to you and me?"

"At your chest and level with myself." She stated plainly.

"That's it!" The Doctor exclaimed, making the two others in the room both jump. "Look there," he pointed to the screen. "Compare the height of the register to your copy cat."

Rachel stepped closer to the screen to realize that the copy cat in the camera footage was shorter than the register itself but at least a few inches. "The register is taller!" 

Mr. Baxter squinted at the screen with furrowed brows and a frown.

"Right!" The Doctor's tone was beaming with excitement and he pointed to her shoes. "You said it was dressed exactly like you. Look at your shoes. You're wearing a pair of flats. That means whatever is in the camera feed is genuinely shorter than you."

Rachel beamed back with a big smile after glancing at her shoes. "Great, we've proven my innocence, now what?"

"Now," he turned to Mr. Baxter. "First, I think you owe Ms. Anderson here an apology and her job back."

Mr. Baxter flustered a bit and stumbled over a hurried apology, promising to do the paperwork to put her back on the schedule.

"Good man, Mr. Baxter." The Docter clapped him on the back twice. "Now, Rachel. We have ourselves a thief to catch." He turned back to the office door. "Allons-y!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Stargate Project was a United States government program founded in 1991 by the Defense Intelligence Agency and SRI International to investigate the potential for psychic phenomena for military and domestic intelligence applications.
> 
> If you are interested in learning more about the project, I have linked a Wikipedia page here.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just really missing David Tennant's Doctor. This is kind of a self-indulgence work. I can't promise regular posts but feel free to stick around if I do happen to post more.


End file.
